Forced to flee the scandal brewing in her home town, Catherine Goggin finds herself pregnant and alone, in search of a new life at just sixteen. She knows she has no choice but to believe that the nun she entrusts her child to will find him a better life.
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery, or so his parents are constantly reminding him. Adopted as a baby, he’s never quite felt at home with the family that treats him more as a curious pet than a son. But it is all he has ever known.
And so begins one man’s desperate search to find his place in the world. Unspooling and unseeing, Cyril is a misguided, heart-breaking, heartbroken fool. Buffeted by the harsh winds of circumstance towards the one thing that might save him from himself, but when opportunity knocks, will he have the courage, finally, take it?

This is by far one of the most difficult reviews I ever had to write.
If you read the synopsis there is not much given about the struggle Cyril is going trough but it is really difficult to review this book without giving small away small things that might spoil parts of the story that would be nice to discover yourself. If this book caught your interest by just reading the synopsis just get a copy and read it. John Boyne is a great writer and this story will be worth it. If you want to know more and maybe get a tiny bit spoiled you can read the rest of this review.

This book is raw and emotional. The struggle Cyril is experiencing, finding his way in life, is real and it is clear that the author knows what he is talking about. Though the story covers Cyril his whole life (and a few extra years) and the speed is pretty high there is enough space to explain the laws and rules of the country and society. The influence this has on the decisions Cyril makes in his life and how much it hurts not being able to be yourself. What made it even more clear was the approach that live is happening and you have to make of it what you can within the boundaries. As we follow Cyril growing up having to deal with adolescence, finding a job, friends getting married and so on the struggle becomes even more clear.

Cyril is an easy character to love. Meeting him as a young boy and experiencing his journey growing up the loneliness of his childhood already makes you want to take him away and engulf him with love. He does make some decisions in his life I could not agree with as a reader but the anger at him only made me invested in him more. As you meet most other characters trough his eyes his emotions are mirrored in the readers liking or disliking a character. His adoptive parents are by far the most interesting characters and the relationship between Cyril and them and how they keep influencing the rest of his life would be worth a whole investigation for some psychiatrist.

The one thing that did bother me in the book was the coincidence of how Cyril and Catherine stayed connected. Not only in the city but even in other parts of the world.